France recorded about 1,000 additional deaths during three days at the peak of a severe European heat wave, according to Public Health France, as the World Health Organization warned that Europe is warming faster than any other continent.
The French agency said daily deaths rose from a pre-heat-wave average of about 900 to 1,000 to more than 1,200 on Wednesday and more than 1,400 on both Thursday and Friday. It said the estimate is likely to rise as more information, including deaths in private homes, is collected. About 85 per cent of the deaths involved people 65 and older, and increases were highest in areas under red heat warnings.
Temperature records were set across the continent. Germany reported 41.7 C, Poland 40.5 C and the Czech Republic 41.1 C, each marking national highs. The heat wave was moving eastward after affecting western and central Europe.
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Europe is heating at twice the global average and that 150 million people were living under extreme heat. He called heat stress a “silent killer” and urged governments to improve preparedness, prevention and health-system responses.
A rapid analysis by World Weather Attribution said the recent heat and humidity would have been virtually impossible without climate change and is now far more likely than in previous decades.
The heat also strained emergency services and infrastructure. Berlin reported about 500 additional ambulance dispatches on Saturday, mostly heat-related, while police used water cannons to cool crowds near the Brandenburg Gate. Wildfires broke out in parts of Germany, including areas containing unexploded Second World War ordnance. Rail and tram services were disrupted by storm damage, overheated trains and heat-damaged tracks. Severe thunderstorms followed the heat in parts of northern Europe, with lightning injuring several people at a Swedish amusement park on the weekend.